You are so absolutely right, you should have been their marketing director
and they'd still be around. People still like to build things just the same!
They completely missed the Maker movement, the computer mod stuff, the
switch to the web. Also too many stores, too small. The stuff they had in
there lately was an appalling mish-mash of uninteresting random stuff. No
need to read the news, you could so clearly see that the company management
was so totally lost and aimless by just visiting a store.
Here in the Valley, Fry's Electronics took over, and then made it so much
better. Fry's is where you stop at lunch time, for amateur or professional
stuff alike, and get an instant replacement for your fried LM7805. It also
keeps our company electronics lab and fab and IT alive. And you can get an
espresso at the same time, and a pack of sugar loaded cookies if you are a
late night programmer. And a concert on a full size Steinway while you are
picking up your capacitor. Let's not forget the best of it, being chased
around by the totally incompetent sales person that will convince you that
SATA and USB are one and the same thing. Trying to lose him by walking
progressively faster. Man, they can walk fast too, these are trained
professionals. And for the grand finale, being stripped searched going out
the door. How is that for the ultimate nerd store experience!
Love it all. The Fry brothers are geniuses.
Marc
fahimi wrote:
RadioShack had it essentially right in the 2014 Super Bowl commercial - the
80s
called and they did want their store back. What they screwed up was
thinking that meant >the old store had to go and be replaced with the
current monstrosity.
RadioShack should have brought back the store of the
1980s and updated it
items like cheap cables, Raspberry Pi kits, etc. I.E. hobbyist
and do it
yourself stuff. Yes, they >still would have to close a number of locations
(do you really need a ratshack on every corner?) but what would have been
left behind would have thrived...